103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4867

AMENDMENTS
In the Senate of the United States,

August 18, 1994.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 4867) entitled ‘‘An Act to authorize appropriations for high-speed rail transportation, and for other purposes’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENTS:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘High-Speed Ground

3 Transportation Development Act of 1994’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

6 (1) high-speed rail offers safe and transportation

7 in certain densely traveled corridors linking major

8 metropolitan areas in the United States;

9 (2) high-speed rail may have environmental ad10 vantages over certain other forms of intercity trans11 portation;

12 (3) Amtrak’s Metroliner service between Wash13 ington, District of Columbia, and New York, New

14 York, the United States premier high-speed rail serv15 ice, has shown that Americans will use high-speed

16 rail when that transportation option is available;
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1 (4) new high-speed rail service should not receive

2 Federal subsidies for operating and maintenance ex3 penses;

4 (5) State and local governments should take the

5 prime responsibility for the development and imple6 mentation of high-speed rail service;

7 (6) the private sector should participate in fund8 ing the development of high-speed rail systems;

9 (7) in some intercity corridors, Federal planning

10 assistance may be required to supplement the funding

11 commitments of State and local governments and the

12 private sector to ensure the adequate planning, in13 cluding reasonable estimates of the costs and benefits,

14 of high-speed rail systems;

15 (8) improvement of existing technologies can fa16 cilitate the development of high-speed rail systems in

17 the United States; and

18 (9) Federal assistance is required for the im19 provement, adaptation, and integration of tech20 nologies for commercial application in high-speed rail

21 service in the United States.

22 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to encourage

23 far-sighted State, local, and private efforts in the analysis

24 and planning for high-speed rail systems in appropriate

25 intercity travel corridors.
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1 SEC. 3. NATIONAL HIGH-SPEED RAIL ASSISTANCE PRO2 GRAM.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part C of subtitle IV of title 49,

4 United States Code (relating to passenger transportation),

5 is amended by adding at the end the following new chapter:

6 ‘‘CHAPTER 251—HIGH-SPEED RAIL ASSISTANCE

7 ‘‘§ 25101. Corridor planning

8 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may provide finan9 cial assistance to an applicant, based upon the criteria set

10 forth in subsection (d) of this section, to fund corridor plan11 ning under subsection (b)(1) of this section.

12 (b) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—

13 ‘‘(1) A corridor planning activity is eligible for

14 financial assistance under subsection (c) if the Sec15 retary determines that it is necessary to establish ap16 propriate engineering, operational, financial, envi17 ronmental, or socioeconomic projections for the estab18 lishment of high-speed rail service in the corridor and

19 that it leads toward development of a prudent finan20 cial and institution plan for implementation of spe21 cific high-speed rail improvements. Eligible corridor

22 planning activities include—

23 ‘‘(A) environmental assessments;

24 ‘‘(B) feasibility studies emphasizing com25 mercial technology improvements or applica26 tions;
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1 ‘‘(C) Economic analyses, including rider2 ship, revenue and operating expense forecasting;

3 ‘‘(D) assessing the impact on rail employ4 ment of developing high-speed rail corridors;

5 ‘‘(E) assessing community economic im6 pacts;

7 ‘‘(F) interface with State and metropolitan

8 area transportation planning and corridor plan9 ning with other States;

10 ‘‘(G) operational planning;

11 ‘‘(H) route selection analyses;

12 ‘‘(I) preliminary engineering and design;

13 ‘‘(J) identification of specific improvements

14 to a corridor, including electrification, line

15 straightening, grade crossing closings, and other

16 right-of-way improvements, bridge rehabilitation

17 and replacement, use of advanced locomotives

18 and rolling stock, ticketing, interface with other

19 modes of transportation, parking and other

20 means of passenger access, track, signal, station

21 and other capital works, and use of intermodal

22 terminals;

23 ‘‘(K) preparation of financing plans and

24 prospectuses; and

25 ‘‘(L) creation of public/private partnerships.
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1 ‘‘(2) No financial assistance shall be provided

2 under this section for corridor planning with respect

3 to the main line of the Northeast Corridor, between

4 Washington, District of Columbia, and Boston, Mas5 sachusetts.

6 ‘‘(c) CORRIDOR PLANNING ASSISTANCE.—

7 ‘‘(1) The Secretary may provide under this sub8 section financial assistance to an applicant for cor9 ridor planning for up to 50 percent of the publicly fi10 nanced costs associated with eligible activities.

11 ‘‘(2) No less than 20 percent of publicly financed

12 costs associated with eligible activities shall come

13 from State and local sources, which State and local

14 sources cannot include funds from any Federal pro15 gram.

16 ‘‘(d) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING FINANCIAL ASSIST17 ANCE.—Selection by the Secretary of applicants for finan18 cial assistance under this section shall be based on such cri19 teria as the Secretary considers appropriate, including—

20 ‘‘(A) the relationship or inclusion of the corridor

21 in the Secretary’s national high-speed ground trans22 portation policy;

23 ‘‘(B) the extent to which the proposed planning

24 focuses on systems which will achieve sustained speeds

25 of 125 miles per hour or greater;
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1 ‘‘(C) the integration of the corridor into metro2 politan area and Statewide transportation planning;

3 ‘‘(D) the potential interconnection of the corridor

4 with other parts of the Nation’s transportation sys5 tem, including the interconnection with other coun6 tries;

7 ‘‘(E) the anticipated effect of the corridor on the

8 congestion of other modes of transportation;

9 ‘‘(F) whether the work to be funded will aid the

10 efforts of State and local governments to comply with

11 the Clean Air Act;

12 ‘‘(G) the past and proposed financial commit13 ments and other support of State and local govern14 ments and the private sector to the proposed high15 speed rail program, including the acquisition of roll16 ing stock;

17 ‘‘(H) the estimated level of ridership;

18 ‘‘(I) the estimated capital cost of corridor im19 provements, including the cost of closing, improving,

20 or separating highway-rail grade crossing;

21 ‘‘(J) rail transportation employment impacts;

22 ‘‘(K) community economic impacts;

23 ‘‘(L) the extent to which the projected revenues of

24 the high-speed rail service to be planned, along with

25 any financial commitments of State or local govern-
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1 ments and the private sector, are expected to cover

2 capital costs and operating and maintenance ex3 penses; and

4 ‘‘(M) whether a route has been selected, specific

5 improvements identified, and capacity studies com6 pleted.

7 ‘‘§ 25102. High-speed rail technology improvements

8 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary is authorized to un9 dertake activities for the improvement, adaptation, and in10 tegration of technologies for commercial application in

11 high-speed rail service in the United States.

12 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS.—In carrying out activi13 ties authorized in subsection (a), the Secretary may provide

14 financial assistance to any United States private business,

15 educational institution located in the United States, State

16 or local government or public authority, or agency or the

17 Federal Government.

18 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.—In

19 carrying out activities authorized in subsection (a), the Sec20 retary shall consult with such other governmental agencies

21 as may be necessary concerning the availability of appro22 priate technologies for commercial application in high23 speed rail service in the United States.

24 ‘‘§ 25103. Definitions.

25 ‘‘For purposes of this chapter—
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1 ‘‘(1) the term ‘applicant’ means a public agency,

2 or a group of such public agencies, seeking financial

3 assistance under this title;

4 ‘‘(2) the term ‘financial assistance’ includes

5 grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements;

6 ‘‘(3) the term ‘high-speed rail’ means rail pas7 senger transportation expected to reach and maintain

8 speeds of 125 miles per hour or greater;

9 ‘‘(4) the term ‘publicly funded costs’ means the

10 costs funded after April 29, 1993, by Federal, State,

11 and local governments;

12 ‘‘(5) the term ‘State’’ means any of the several

13 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the

14 Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, Guam,

15 American Samoa, and any other territory or posses16 sion of the United States;

17 ‘‘(6) the term ‘United States private business’

18 means a business entity organized under the laws of

19 the United States, or of a State, and conducting sub20 stantial business operations in the United States.

21 ‘‘§ 25104. Safety regulations

22 ‘‘The Secretary shall promulgate such safety regula23 tions as may be necessary for high-speed rail services.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. COLUMBUS AND GREENVILLE RAILWAY.

2 (a) REDEMPTION OF OUTSTANDING OBLIGATIONS AND

3 LIABILITIES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

4 the Secretary of Transportation, or the Secretary of the

5 Treasury, if a holder of any of the obligations, shall allow

6 the Delta Transportation Company, doing business as the

7 Columbus & Greenville Railway, to redeem the obligations

8 and liabilities of such company which remain outstanding

9 under sections 505 and 511 of the Railroad Revitalization

10 and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (45 U.S.C. 825 and

11 831, respectively).

12 (b) VALUE.—For purposes of subsection (a), the value

13 of each of the obligations and liabilities shall be an amount

14 equal to the value established under the Federal Credit Re15 form Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et seq.).

16 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

17 (a) AUTHORIZATION FOR FISCAL YEAR 1995.—There

18 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Trans19 portation $29,000,000 for financial assistance authorized

20 under sections 25101 and 25102 of title 49, United States

21 Code.

22 (b) AUTHORIZATION FOR FISCAL YEAR 1996.—There

23 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary—

24 (1) $40,000,000 for financial assistance author25 ized under section 25101 of title 49, United States

26 Code; and
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1 (2) $30,000,000 for financial assistance author2 ized under section 25102 of title 49, United States

3 Code.

4 (c) AUTHORIZATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1997.—There

5 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Trans6 portation—

7 (1) $40,000,000 for financial assistance author8 ized under section 25101 of title 49, United States

9 Code; and

10 (2) $30,000,000 for financial assistance author11 ized under section 25102 of title 49, United States

12 Code.

13 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES OF SECRETARY.—Of

14 the amounts authorized to be appropriated under sub15 sections (a), (b) and (c), the Secretary of Transportation

16 may reserve the funds necessary for payment of the admin17 istrative expenses incurred by the Secretary in carrying out

18 the Secretary’s responsibilities under chapter 251 of title

19 49, United States Code.
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1 (e) FUNDS TO REMAIN AVAILABLE.—Funds made

2 available under this section shall remain available until ex3 pended.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘An Act to authorize

appropriations for high-speed ground transportation, and

for other purposes.’’.

Attest:

Secretary.